IMPORTANT POINTS
Compensation should be computed on the date of accident. Interest payable from the date of accident to the date of payment.
Compensation would be payable whether or not there has been wrongful act, neglect or fault on the part of the railway. Strict liability applies in case of railway accidents.
Death or injury in the course of boarding or de-boarding a train will be an ‘untoward incident’. Does not fall under proviso to Section 124A. Victim entitled to compensation.
Mere presence of a body on the Railway premises will not be conclusive to hold the injured or deceased a bona fide passenger. At the same time, mere absence of ticket with such injured or deceased will not negative the claim of being a bona fide passenger. Initial burden lies on claimant which may be discharged by filing affidavit. Therefater the burden shifts to Railways.
The rate of interest should be reasonable.

JUDGMENT :

Adarsh Kumar Goel, J.

1. This appeal has been preferred against award of compensation of Rs.4 lakhs under Section 124A of the Railways Act, 1989 (1989 Act).

2. The respondent filed claim for compensation for death of her husband Jatan Gope in an ‘untoward incident’ on 20th August, 2002. Her case is that the deceased had purchased a ticket of second class for Karauta to Khusrupur by train No.532. He fell down from the train due to rush of passengers and died on the spot. One Kailash Gope who witnessed the deceased purchasing the ticket and boarding the train filed an affidavit stating these facts. He was not cross-examined. Case of the respondent is that the ticket was not recovered from possession of the deceased as it may have been lost somewhere.

3. The claim was contested by the appellant. It was stated that the deceased was not a passenger but was wandering near the railway track. Cousin of the deceased who lodged FIR stated the deceased was suffering from mental disorder and was wandering in that state of mind. However, he was not examined as a witness.

4. The Tribunal dismissed the claim on the ground that it was not a case of ‘untoward incident’ but a case of ‘run over’. The deceased was not a bona fide passenger.

5. The High Court set aside the order of the Tribunal by relying upon the evidence of Kailash Gope who filed affidavit to the effect that the deceased had purchased the ticket and had boarded the train. The said witness has not been cross-examined. Reliance was placed on a Division Bench judgment of the High Court in Kaushalaya Devi versus Union of India through General Manager, North Eastern Railway, Gorakhpur, U.P., PLJR 2008 (3) 711 to the effect that if a dead body is found in the precincts of the Railway Station, there is a presumption that the deceased was a bona fide passenger. Onus to prove that he was a ticketless traveller was on the Railway. Judgment of this Court in Kamrunissa versus Union of India, AIR 2017 SC 1436 : 2017 SCC Online SC 304 to the effect that the ‘run over’ was different from ‘untoward incident’ was distinguished. Therein, there was no evidence about the deceased purchasing the ticket as in the present case.

6. This appeal has been preferred mainly on the ground that the claim of the respondent was not admissible in absence of an ‘untoward incident’ as defined under Section 123(c) of the 1989 Act as rightly held by the Tribunal. Mere presence of body in the precincts of the Railway was not enough to presume that he was a bona fide purchaser particularly when no ticket was found from the deceased.

7. Learned ASG made it clear that the appellant was interested only in laying down of law on the subject even if the impugned judgment was not disturbed. Accordingly, we requested Shri Mukul Rohtagi, learned senior counsel to assist the court as Amicus, instead of issuing notice to the respondent. We do not propose to disturb the impugned judgment irrespective of its correctness and we propose to consider the legal issue sought to be raised and the issues that have been brought to our notice by the Railway Tribunal as shown later.

8. Vide order dated 13th March, 2018, we noted the issue of apparent conflict in Rathi Menon versus Union of India, (2001) 3 SCC 714, para 30 and Kalandi Charan Sahoo versus General Manager, South-East Central Railway, Bilaspur, Civil Appeal No.5608 of 2017 decided on 25.4.2017 as to the relevant date for applying the rate of compensation when different rate is applicable at the time of filing of claim and on the date of the order. A submission has been filed by the Registrar Principal Bench, Railway Claims Tribunal seeking clarification on four subjects which repeatedly arise before the said Tribunal i.e. :

(i) Quantum of compensation: It is stated that there is a conflict in the decisions in Rathi Menon (supra) and Kalandi Charan Sahoo (supra) which needs clarification. We have already taken note of this issue.

(ii) Definition of passenger:Whether any person fo